CHAPTER TWO

'Rising! Rising!'

A call resonates in the room, where Cass is currently staying. It made her look around to check what time is it who was the person calling.

It's Daniel, one of her housemates at the apartment. Calling at six am in the morning means it's breakfast time for them. She tends to forget or skip her meals when she's in deep thought. And someone needs to remind her or no food will be in her stomach.

She stood up, fix the bed, and answered the call, saying that she will head back before leaving the said room. Downstairs, the Greens family are preparing for their hearty breakfast. It's one of the rarest days that they have a visitor in the house, everyone wakes up earlier than their usual sleep schedule every weekend; even Amelia who still have a migraine from the side effect of intoxication last night.

"Good morning, Cass..." Amelia groans. "Do we have ibuprofen, Dad?"

"For you, young lady, no." Amor sternly said to Amelia. "You better learn your lesson from drinking too much. You look like a waste when you guys returned last night. Letting you out to play in some club is a bad idea."

"Mom, I'm dying from headache here, please don't scold me too much," Amelia complains.

"Just take a cup of coffee, it will be gone," Andrew answers, while still looking at the papers he's studying. "Besides, you know that we don't store medicines: we use natural medicine and herbs."

"You know I hate coffee; it's bitter! Also, pain killers are faster than some natural medicines."

"Then dump a lot of sugar and then drink it."

"Don't wanna! I want medicine..." Amelia keeps on whining. "Dad..."

A plate of eggs, bacon, butter, bread, and rice are placed nicely at the table,  Amor pulled her arm to the dining table, ignoring the bickering of her children. "Cassie dear, come join us for breakfast! It has been a while since Amelia brought a friend of hers."

"I'm going to decline, Mrs. Greens—" Cass starts to say when she got interrupted.

"Call me 'aunt,' okay?" Amor insists. "All friends of my children call me that."

Cass never encountered a demanding person in terms of calling them or making someone stay, despite being a stranger. It's bearable, but she still doesn't understand why some people have that behavior.

"Ok, Aunt. I need to go home, but my housemates are expecting me to join breakfast, and we will do something later." Cass says as her phone keeps on ringing. "I'm sorry if I can't join, perhaps next time?"

"Don't worry about it, dear. You're so sweet, you and your housemates taking care of one another. Let me send you out, are you sure you'll be fine?" Amor gushes like she's pampering her child, not her child's friend.

Cass smiled lightly. "Yes, aunt."

She looks at Amelia who almost plants her face to the table from the pain she's experiencing. "By the way, Ames, drink water. The cold would be nice. You get a headache because you're dehydrated. Water up. Uncle, I'm off now."

The siblings stare at one another as their father was still flipping the page of the newspaper. It's not technically an awkward one, but it's surprising to hear that Cass knows what to do when you are drunk.

Avery spoke. "You heard the young lady. Drink water. Next time you went to clubs, little girl, make sure you can handle your liquor. Cassie here dragged you back last night and you look like a mess. She sure drank a bit, but she's clear-headed. If you don't do it, we will ground you for weeks."

Amor made sure that the taxi she will ride is safe and legit transportation before entering the said vehicle. It's troublesome, but Cass won't complain about it either.

As soon as Cass get into a taxi, she answered the call. "What is it?"

"Cassie, can we postpone training today?" Daniel asks over the phone.

"Why?"

"We have a team building tomorrow, and I need to prepare," Daniel explains. "I think I already mentioned it last week, have I?"

"I think so, too. It's fine if you can't do training today, how long does that team building lasts?" Cass saw the taxi turned left, almost there in the unit they bought.

"Three days, I think? Then two days no work, so I'll use that day for full training then."

The taxi stopped at the unit, she gave a few bills, and entered the property. "We can talk about it while eating. I'm already here."

Cass turns off the call and opens the door to the house, seeing Daniel and Charles waiting for her at the entrance of the dining room. "So, how is it? Did you enjoy it?"

Charles is the first one who spoke as soon as she entered the house. The dog, who looked like a snow wolf from its fierce appearance, sat excitedly to greet Cass.

"Too many people and too noisy. Also, the stench of alcoholic drink and sweat emanates in the building, let's not add the fact that some people there are using illegal drugs." She put her things at the coffee table and went straight to the dining. "People there became wild animals as soon as the music starts. That kid even drank too much, despite knowing that no one will fetch us back."

"It's modern times now, Cassie," Charles chuckles. "Back in our day, that's not how we party, aren't we? We sure drink, but we still make ourselves sober."

"Amanda will kill you if you went home crawling and puking your insides out from intoxication, Charlie," As they sat around the dining table, Daniel prepares the utensils. "Also, we were at war, how can you be able to aim your guns if your eyesight is seeing two?"

"Fair point." Charles lifts a plate of eggs and passes it to Cass. "Everyone is high-strung; too paranoid when they will strike at us. Of course, let's add the fact that you are busy with your patients, and you guys don't have enough medical apparatus."

"Mhmm, but there are still good times. I never thought spending time with you people can teach me a lot of things." Cass scoops a spoon of rice and eats.

"Your modesty will bite back at you," Charles comments. "We were surprised to discover that you aren't human like us. Amanda was scared for your safety since she knows you are always at the hospital, tending to the wounded, and you don't have some time to return to the house. I remember seeing the hospital turned to rubble, and I don't know if there are still patients in there. My crew was stoned to the ground, seeing it like it was a lego being stomped by a kid's foot. We were relieved to know that the patients were evacuated, but when one of the people who saw the collapse of the building said that you were still there in the building, I know for sure that Amanda will kill me if she found out your dead, so we tried to look for your body if we can still retrieve it."

"But I didn't die, did I?" Cass smiles lightly, amusement was evident on her face. "I won't get killed by a mere brick. I just need to get some medical supplies for the other patients and soon-to-be patients when the explosion ends."

"It's a surprise to see you walking out of the ruins like strolling at the beach, you know? There's no wound in you, even a small scratch you don't have. Your clothes were only dirty no speck of damage, even to your lab coat. And also, you're bringing a bag of medical supplies with both of your hands like you just finished shopping at the mall."

Laughter emanates in the room, happiness with their simple life is one of the things Cass appreciates. Modern times had been so advanced, compared way back before that things are still discovered bit by bit as the year's progress. It made people's lives easier; to reach people overseas, communicate with them even when you are sitting at your porch, and even to the point that a robot will do chores for you.

At some point in their lives, they struggled with the modernization of society, but they still managed to live the life they wanted. 

"But for today, you're the lucky winner of whole day training with me, Charles." Cass smiled as she reaches for the plate of ham and bacon.

A horrified expression is plastered on Charlie's face when he heard Cass' announcement. After all, her training is one of the ridiculous training they had ever faced in their entire existence, and they don't know where she had gotten those moves and how she'll be able to execute them.

She's a demon in a woman's clothing: if she wants him to do something, she will insist until you bleed.